by Karis Walsh
She brushed her fingers across her cheeks, wiping away the tears. She had been nervous about coming here, and the past two months had been hell, but damn if Kassidy didn’t still have the power to make her laugh.
Paige led Dante past a bluegrass band playing on Kassidy’s patio and toward the main booths. She was pleased to see the Dutch doors of the cottage standing wide open, with advertisements for the rental on a folding table. She wandered through the crowd, recognizing all the vendor names and chatting with some of her new friends. The smell of lavender was thick in the air, in a way it hadn’t been during the spring.
She was walking past the craft tables, where Kyle was helping some children make lavender wands—better than hers, of course, the little brats—when she felt a hand on her arm. She closed her eyes briefly, drinking in the feel of Kassidy’s touch, before she turned around. Dante went ballistic, and Paige was grateful for the chance to collect herself while Kassidy played with him.
“You came,” Kassidy stated. Paige wasn’t sure if she seemed happy or not about her presence.
She gestured around them. “You took my advice,” she said. She shook her head and smiled, not able to keep a stiff demeanor around Kassidy for long. “It’s more than I ever imagined, even when I was telling you to—how did you rephrase it?—go big or go home.”
Kassidy smiled and looked around the drying shed full of people, and once her face lost its closed expression, Paige could see more of what she was feeling. Weariness, stress over all those potentially destructive hands and feet. Good things, too, like pride in her farm and a charmed surprise to see so many people who wanted to visit it.
“So I heard you’ve been dating a dog trainer.” Kassidy’s voice was casual, and she kept her gaze focused on the craft table next to her, but the comment was obviously not one that an uninterested person would make. Or was it?
“So,” Paige mimicked Kassidy’s inflection. “You’ve been keeping track of my social life.”
Kassidy shrugged. “It’s a small town. You hear things.”
“Hm, okay. Sarai told me that she mentioned it when you were at her restaurant. She said you seemed devastated by the news.”
Actually, Sarai had told Paige she’d dropped the information as a way to gauge Kassidy’s reaction, which had been minimal. Paige wasn’t going to give up her chance to embellish, though.
Kassidy faced her. “Devastated? Please. I’ll admit I was shocked that a dog trainer who had worked with you and Dante wasn’t locked away in a straitjacket after the experience, but that’s about all I felt.”
“Hey. He’s top of his class in both obedience and agility.” Kassidy didn’t need to know they were taking private lessons.
“Really,” Kassidy said. “Then where’d he get that shoe?”
Paige followed her gesture and saw Dante chewing on a tiny white sneaker. She tugged it out of his mouth and returned it to the woman with the stroller who had just passed by them.
“Is she someone special?” Kassidy asked, her voice suddenly almost too quiet to hear in the noisy shed.
Paige hesitated before answering. Here was her chance to get back at Kassidy for hurting her. To pretend she hadn’t cared, that she hadn’t worried about how she’d survive the pain of losing her. Paige shook her head, finished with her teasing. “She’s nice, but not the one for me. I wanted to forget about you, Kassidy. Crystal and I went to lunch a couple of times, but nothing more, because she just wasn’t…she wasn’t you.”
Kassidy grabbed Paige’s arm with a shaking hand and pulled her and Dante through the hordes of people, not slowing down until she had reached her back door. She only let go of Paige to fish her key out of her jeans pocket and unlock the door. She was fairly sure she hadn’t shown any alteration in her expression when Sarai had talked about the dog trainer, so she guessed Paige had been kidding about Sarai saying she was devastated. She really had been, though, and the long nights after hearing the news had been the worst of this whole ordeal. The ordeal she had caused when she rejected Paige. But she had asked about the woman and Paige hadn’t played games with her. She hadn’t tried to hide how she felt about Kassidy even though she had turned her away once and could easily have done it again.
Kassidy shut and locked the door behind them once they were inside.
“Why didn’t I trust you, Paige? Why did I pull away?”
Paige smiled, although it was merely a movement of her mouth. Kassidy saw sadness and tension in her cheeks and forehead. “I don’t know, Kass. I wanted to be up front with you and let you know I wasn’t going to have sex with you and then disappear back to Portland the next day. I didn’t realize my reassurances were the last thing you wanted to hear, and that you wanted me to go away.”
Kassidy shook her head, reaching toward Paige and using the pad of her thumb to trace her frown lines, smoothing them away with her touch.
“I wanted more, but I was afraid. In the past, I’ve been in relationships that bring out the worst in me. The scared little girl who can’t understand why her mother won’t get out of bed and make dinner. I was starting to fall in love with you, and I was afraid of turning into her again.”
“Oh, Kassidy. That little girl you used to be is not the worst part of you at all.” Paige put her hands on Kassidy’s shoulders, squeezing her gently as if determined to make her hear the words she was saying. “She’s the best of who you are. Strong and determined. Dedicated to her family. Brave enough to grow up early and accept the responsibilities of an adult. I love those aspects of you.”
Kassidy paused, startled because she had never felt honored this way by another person. She was seen by Paige, but she hadn’t believed it until now. She shook her head. She didn’t deserve it. “I withdraw. I push people away. I pushed you away.”
Paige nodded. “You did, and it hurt. I understand why, but I also know there are better ways for us to manage our relationship when one of us gets scared. It’s not something I can handle if it happens every time we argue, or you get upset.”
Kassidy nodded. She had been doing a lot of soul searching after her talk with Kayla, and she wanted to share it with Paige. Later. Right now, she had something more pressing on her mind.
“When we argue,” she repeated. “Does that mean you’re willing to give me another chance? Do you want to stick around long enough for us to find something to argue about?”
Paige smiled. “You mean something like orange crime scene tape marring the beauty of your idyllic farm?”
Kassidy tilted her head. “Something like that. Of course, we could also have an argument about something else entirely, if you want to have any chance in hell of winning.”
Paige grinned. Her hands still on Kassidy’s shoulders, she pushed her backward until Kassidy was pressed to the door, feeling the grooves of the carved panels against her hips. Paige leaned close and kissed her.
Kassidy gasped in surprise as Paige kissed her with all the force and passion they had been missing before. She had been awed by their quieter kiss in the car, but too much of her mind had been devoted to her fears. Now there was nothing to her or for her besides Paige. Kassidy opened her mouth, responding to the insistent pressure of Paige’s tongue. Paige’s hand slipped from her shoulder to her waist, anchoring them together as her fingers gently stroked and dipped below the top of her jeans.
Nerve endings made connections Kassidy had never felt before, and her entire body from the top of her head to her toes seemed to explode with pleasure, and then the feeling flowed through her, concentrating deep in her core when Paige’s fingers unbuttoned her jeans and rested against her belly.
She fumbled for the hem of Paige’s T-shirt and then her bra, finally managing to get them off, and she tossed them aside with a growl of frustration because they had taken too long to remove. She wanted skin. Now. She curled one hand around the back of Paige’s neck and kissed her way to Paige’s ear, then down to her collarbone. Her other hand explored Paige’s breasts, teasing them until Paige�
�s breath turned rapid and shallow. Kassidy brushed the lightly callused part of her palm over Paige’s nipple and squirmed in response when the touch made Paige moan and push her hand deeper down the front of Kassidy’s jeans.
Kassidy pushed her thigh between Paige’s legs, pressing against her until she felt Paige’s warmth soak through the denim between them. Paige rocked against her, mirroring the movement with her fingers as they moved lower and finally slid through Kassidy’s wetness. The rhythm overpowered any residual thought Kassidy might have had about protecting herself until she was fully open and ready for Paige to enter her. She felt Paige’s climax building as surely as her own, until they thrust toward each other and came together.
Kassidy sagged against the door, hoping her legs would continue to support her and not give up entirely, sending them both crashing to the floor. The sounds of a festival in full swing eventually entered her mind again.
She laughed weakly as Paige tipped her head and placed light kisses along the side of her neck. “You made me forget about all those people out there, laying siege to my farm,” she said with a sigh. A blissful sigh, this time. “If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”
Paige wrapped her arms around Kassidy’s waist and hugged her. “You’re right, Kass. This is love,” she whispered in Kassidy’s ear, her breath soft as a downy feather. “And I’m never letting you go again.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Paige drove along the tree-encroached highway to McMinnville with the temptation to pull over and take photos of the colorful foliage vying with her desire to get to Kassidy as soon as possible. Years of city living had numbed her senses to the changing seasons, but now she was falling into the rhythm of the year.
Portland had a significant number of trees, especially when compared to other cities in which she’d lived, and she hadn’t been immune to the ones that changed to vibrant reds and yellows in the fall. Still, most of her time had been spent inside buildings, apartments, and cars, where heaters and air conditioners regulated the temperature and gave a false impression of similarity to all four seasons. Now the majority of her days were connected to the current mood of the natural world around her. She ate hazelnuts and asparagus when nature decided she should. She scheduled her weeks around the seasonal needs of the farm, making sure she had extra time off when Kassidy was expecting large numbers of tourists, or when the lavender plants needed to be pruned before winter.
Winter. Cold weather meant for snuggling indoors in front of the fire. Sleepy fields bare of blooms and empty of visitors. Time for her and Kassidy to catch their breath after an insanely busy summer and fall and focus solely on each other. Paige had a feeling winter was going to be her favorite season of all.
She noticed a strange car in the driveway when she got home, so she let herself into the farmhouse, bracing for Dante’s frenzied greeting. He spun in circles around her as she walked to the back door to look outside for Kassidy.
Paige sighed happily when she spotted her in one of the lavender fields behind the house with an older couple. She considered going out to rescue her, but Kassidy was smiling and gesturing with one hand full of lavender fronds while her other hand rested on the handle of the pitchfork she had probably been using to spread protective straw over her plants, so Paige leaned against the doorjamb and just gazed at her. She liked to cover some of the tourist wrangling when she was in McMinnville on her long weekends—partly because she enjoyed it, but mostly to give Kassidy a break from the near-constant stream of tourists who wanted to see her farm. Despite Kassidy’s initial reluctance to open her sanctuary to visitors, she had fully embraced Paige’s advice and seemed pleased by the response from the public. Lavender Lane Farm was thriving, and Paige knew that even though her efforts as a consultant had played a part in its success, most of the credit belonged to Kassidy who had stepped out of her comfort zone and turned the farm’s potential into reality.
Another reason Paige decided to wait inside for Kassidy and not go outside to see her right away was because she doubted she’d be able to limit herself to a quick kiss hello, whether or not Kassidy was alone. Paige’s three days in Portland had been lonely ones, even though her new job with a struggling tech company had kept her very busy. Every hour had been filled with reading how-to manuals to familiarize herself with the company’s software products, doing some tricky restructuring with the staff, and overhauling the business’s marketing plan, but she had still managed to spend a ridiculous amount of time staring into space and missing Kassidy.
Once Kassidy and her visitors started walking toward the driveway, Paige went into the living room to wait for her. She sat on the couch with Dante beside her and Kipper perched on the armrest at her side, remembering the first time she had seen this room with its beautiful furnishings marred by muddy paw prints. Now, of course, it was clean, but there were signs everywhere that she and Dante lived here now. His dog toys were strewn across the carpet, and books related to Paige’s latest local consulting job with a new art gallery were stacked on the dining room table, next to a chair with one of her sweaters draped over the back. It felt like home to her now, more than her apartment in the city where she stayed as little as possible, and more than any other place she had ever lived. Not because it was where she kept her favorite books and most of her clothes, but because of Kassidy.
Finally, Paige heard an engine start, and Kassidy came through the front door looking as glad to see Paige as she felt in return.
“You were spying on me,” Kassidy said, grinning despite her mock scolding tone.
“I was not. I just got here.” Paige stood up, gesturing around innocently, as if her position on the couch was proof she hadn’t been standing by the back door only minutes before.
Kassidy shrugged out of her heavy jacket and hung it up. “Were, too. I could see your silhouette through the screen door.” She laughed. “It looked kind of creepy, with just the shadow of a person visible, so I told those people they were getting a rare sighting of the Lavender Lane Farm ghost. I said they should tell all their friends.”
Paige’s answering laugh faded and she squinted at Kassidy, trying to deduce her motive. “Wait…were you trying to scare them off or to create interest in the farm?”
Kassidy shrugged noncommittally, meeting Paige in the middle of the living room and giving her one of the dreamy, lavender-scented kisses Paige had been pining for all week. “You’re the one who told me to brand everything associated with this place,” Kassidy continued when she pulled away again. “You didn’t say I couldn’t have Lavender Lane Farm ghosts. Or zombies that like to feast on the brains of tourists.”
“I guess I need to be more specific in my proposals from now on,” Paige said, wrapping her arms around Kassidy and holding her close. “And I’ll admit I was watching you, but only because the past three days were unbearable without you. Not because I was spying.”
“Oh, please,” Kassidy said with a laugh. “You were making sure I wasn’t about to chase those people off the farm with my pitchfork.”
“The thought never crossed my mind,” Paige said, with as much indignation as she could cram into the words. Kassidy looked at her steadily until Paige smiled and gave up the pretense. “Okay, it may have momentarily crossed my mind, but it didn’t linger for long.”
“Despite your insulting suspicions, they left without any puncture wounds,” Kassidy said, brushing her nose against Paige’s. “I almost stabbed the guy in the foot once, but it was purely an accident. And he had much better reflexes than I was expecting.”
Paige laughed and nuzzled closer to Kassidy, kissing the base of her neck. “However you got rid of them, I’m glad they’re gone, and we’re alone.”
“Mm.” Kassidy tipped her head to give Paige better access, but her soft moan turned into a sigh. “Alone for about ten more minutes. Sarai is coming over to help me with some new recipes for my book, and you, Drew, and Jessica are our tasters.”
Paige echoed Kassidy’s sigh, re
sting their foreheads together. Her social life had been sporadic in the past, with whirlwind dates at the beginning of her relationships followed by long periods of solo nights spent reading with Dante at her side. Until the next round of dates. As much as she preferred being alone with Kassidy, long evenings spent with friends or the twins were a revelation for her. Being part of a couple filled her life in unexpected ways—with more laughter and fun than she had known before. “I forgot,” she admitted. Her sole focus had been on getting home to Kassidy. “I had other plans in mind for us, but they were contingent on us being alone, without any guests. I suppose they can be delayed for a few hours. Or less, if you get the pitchfork out right after we eat.”
Kassidy pressed closer to Paige, even though she had been the one to remind her about their plans for the evening. “I’ll serve all the courses at once. That’ll get them out of here sooner.”
She kissed Paige again, melting under the pressure of Paige’s tongue against hers and responding to Paige’s obvious arousal with a growing urgency. Over the past months she had learned that Paige’s openness to humor and new experiences was indicative of her personality in all areas of her life. She seemed as comfortable expressing herself when something bothered her as she was laughing at most situations, and Kassidy had discovered a level of trust with Paige that she had never encountered before. She knew exactly where she stood with Paige all the time.
Luckily for Kassidy, the feeling Paige expressed most often with her was a desire that matched hers. She nudged Paige with her knee, encouraging her to back up until they tumbled onto the couch together.
“We have eight minutes,” Kassidy said, sifting her fingers through Paige’s hair. “If we make the most of them, we can manage to get through a few hours with company, and then we’ll have—”